Yoga

Improves your flexibility

One of the great benefits of yoga is that it will help your aches and pains disappear by making you more supple. For example tight hamstrings can lead to a flattening of the lumbar spine, which can cause back pain. And inflexibility in muscles and connective tissue, such as fascia and ligaments, can cause poor posture. Click here to see how Osteopathy can help your yoga practice!

Builds muscle strength

By improving strength and flexibility yoga will prevent conditions like back and joint pains.

Eases your pain

Yoga can ease your pain. According to several studies, asana, meditation, or a combination of the two, reduce pain in people with arthritis, back pain, fibromyalgia, carpal tunnel syndrome, and other chronic conditions.*

Improves your posture

Poor posture over long periods of time will start to strain your muscles and joints and cause back, neck, and other muscle and joint problems. As you slump, your body may compensate by flattening the normal inward curves in your neck and lower back. This can cause pain and degenerative arthritis of the spine. Sitting for long periods can causes compressions in your lower back, potentially leading to disc problems and muscular and ligament strains.

Improves your health

A regular practice may inspire you to become a more conscious eater and can improve coordination, reaction time and memory. Yoga encourages you to slow your breathing, shifting the balance from the sympathetic nervous system (or the fight-or-flight response) to the parasympathetic nervous system (rest-and-digest). The latter is calming and restorative; it lowers heart rates, decreases blood pressure, and increases blood flow to the intestines and reproductive organs.

Regular yoga practice may also improve sleep—which means you’ll be more energised and less tired and stressed.

Moreover, if you practice regularly with an intention of self-examination and betterment—not just as a substitute for an aerobics gym class — you can access a different side of yourself and cultivate deeper awareness and a calmer attitude to life.